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Magic Weekend 2015

Holdsworth heading for Hull exit

Hull FC are starting to prepare for life without Daniel Holdsworth, director of rugby Motu Tony admits.

Hull FC are starting to prepare for life without Daniel Holdsworth, with director of rugby Motu Tony admitting the club are willing to allow the half-back to return to Australia.

Holdsworth's agent said yesterday that his player had been discussing an early exit from his two-year deal for personal reasons, and Tony is happy to go along with the 29-year-old's wishes.

The proviso for Hull is that they can find a replacement for the former Salford Red Devils man, with the forthcoming World Cup likely to give them a chance to scour the market.

Tony has been preparing for this outcome for some time and said: "We are discussing with Daniel the possibility of him returning to Australia for personal reasons.

"It is something we have been aware of for some time and it gives us the opportunity to utilise space on the salary cap and budget to work with.

"We have a number of planned options to assess, but we will remain diligent in ensuring we look at all possible avenues around the world, including the World Cup over the coming weeks."

It is thought Hull have been happy to allow Holdsworth to leave ever since the man who signed him, Peter Gentle, was sacked last month to be replaced by Lee Radford.

Much was expected of Holdsworth at the KC Stadium but an early-season concussion set him back and Hull's on-field form rarely picked up after he established himself in the side.

It had been thought that another of Gentle's signings, Jacob Miller, would also be let go, but Tony has cited the 21-year-old as one of the players who can help fill any void left by Holdsworth.

"To have this sort of salary cap space at our disposal is very useful with the prospect of a few stand-out performers at the upcoming tournament, whilst in Jacob Miller, Richard Horne and Aaron Heremaia we know we also have some good players at our disposal already in the current squad," the former New Zealand international said.

"It hasn't come as a surprise to us, particularly after Daniel missed a good part of last season with concussion, and should he not be part of the squad next season we will be looking to replace him."

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